Short Shorts

by Coranth

164. Glow

It was Pacific Glow who was in my bed; the strange, pink-coated, crimson-maned blank-flank not-quite-foal, yet not-quite teen pony mare who'd been dancing at the Party Palace and then at Rarity For You. Having never seen anything like me before, she'd tried to get me drunk, had gotten herself very drunk and then had tried - of all things - to seduce me. It hadn't worked. Instead, the moment I'd warped home I'd hit myself and her with a shot of Purge to cleanse the alcohol from our systems.

Then came the tears as her drunken high wore off and cold, lonely reality crashed in again. As the tears fell from her eyes to stain her coat, Pacific Glow told me - a total stranger - her story. Why, you ask? Why not? I wasn't a pony; I wouldn't judge her. Pacific Glow lived the kind of life most ponies would dream of having. Her mother was rich, paid all of her expenses, and she was the heiress to her mother's company and wealth. She had no responsibilities and no limits set by her mother or anypony else. Her nights were spent dancing and her days as she pleased.

And yet... she was miserable. She hated it; wanted none of it. All she really, truly wanted... was her parents' love. However, with a Father always absent and Mother cold and heartless... Poor Pacific Glow - Glowy, as she wanted to be called - choked up into silence; then another soft sob escaped her muzzle. Oh-so-gently, I brought her close to me as we lay together in my Master Bed in Weyrhome, tucking her against my pajama-clad form.

"You want to start again?" I whispered.

Glowy blinked, and nodded.

"You want to be a foal, again?"

A whimper of longing escaped this broken mare, as she nodded so quickly I feared she might develop whiplash, fresh tears filling her eyes. Here, then was her hope. Here was her dream. I could do naught but grant it. Bringing the little mare up atop my chest, I petted her, softly, gently, a primal whine escaping her as for the first time she felt parental love. "Pacific Glow," I berated her softly yet firmly, "where have you been? I thought I told you to come back inside early, to do your chores..."

Pacific Glow looked at me reproachfully - yet inside she wept and rejoiced - as she lisped, "I... I'm thorry Papa. I... I feww and huwt mythelf!"

"Oh, did you?" I crooned to her, my expression softening. Carefully I 'examined' her - in reality letting my hands roam wherever they wished (aside from her intimate places of course) as I petted her all over - checking her for injuries. She didn't seem 'hurt', so I waited for her to reply. The poor, love-starved mare was barely able to keep up our role play; as my hands stroked over her coat, and my fingers parted gently through her mane to scratch her behind the ears, she groaned softly, gasped, sobbed again, and then finally got back 'in character.'

"I... I huwt my nothe..." she whimpered. Softly, I 'kissed' it better--but this made her cry again, and I held her, petting her, rocking her gently. Rather than soothe her, however, this seemed to make her cry even harder. Pacific Glow would cuddle normally with me for a while; then she would wedge her pink muzzle beneath my chin and wail uncontrollably for a few minutes; then, without warning, she would nuzzle me furiously; then she just resumed clinging to me, trembling as though she were dying of cold.

When at last her cries faded, the poor foal was wrung out; she was done. Gently, I wiped away her tears with my fingers then tucked her into the crook of my arm. "L-Luh-Love you... Daddy..." she whispered as she settled, drifting off to sleep. I watched her for a time - my heart aching with sympathy - as she slept; the sleep of the uneasy, her body still shaking with silent sobs even though she had no more tears to cry. I eventually fell asleep myself, holding little Glowy close. Later, when we both awakened again and Pacific Glow discovered that, yes, what had happened wasn't a dream, that she could be my foal for a time, the biggest smile split her face.

Thereafter, as we sat together in the Weyr's Kitchenette, I held her and spoon-fed her porridge for breakfast; then after that we did the chores as any family would do - mostly checking and feeding my menagerie of alien animals, little Glowy marveling at the extra-equestrian creatures she'd never seen before - and then after that we played all day. Sometimes, we wrestled gently, sometimes we played 'Chase' or 'Hide-and-Seek', or 'Tag.' Later, I took her inside to the bathroom wherein I put her in a bath - a bubble bath, of course - and washed her gently; then I dried her off.

As Princess Celestia lowered the sun for Princess Luna to begin the night, I sat on the old leather sofa in Weyrhome, little Glowy cradled in my arms, the foal-mare nearly asleep as I softly told her a bedtime story. When the tale was done, I put her to bed in the Guest Commons and made to leave for the Master Suite and my own bed, only to be stopped by her hoof reaching out and grabbing my hand. "Dada?" Glowy asked, her eyes still closed. “You’ll still be here when I wake up, right? You won’t go away, right?”

It was a true testament to my emotional control as a High Templar that I didn't break down right there. Instead, my eyes very misty - softly clearing a suspicious lump from my throat - as the Weyr's agreement/empathy roared through my thoughts I softly answered, “Of course, sweetheart. Of course I’ll be here.” My reassurance wasn't enough. Taking the pacifier she wore about her neck into her mouth, Glowy suckled upon it, whimpering softly, raising her hooves to reach me... and my control crumbled.

Swiftly taking her up into my arms - as she wriggled and cooed softly - I took her back with me to the Master Suite and settled into bed, tucking her in close to me. Humming softly around her pacifier, she kneaded my arm with her forehooves, stretching out against me, molding her little body to mine... and then, as if a great knot within her had finally unraveled, all tension seemed to leave her body. Pacific Glow fell asleep. I watched her for a time, the Weyrmind, too, watching her through my eyes. Then, finally, I slept, wondering what tomorrow would have in store for us both.

Comments

[eighter]

the feels